Jumping rope has been a vital part of children's activities for a long time. Many different varieties of jump rope games have been played by children, involving one or more participants. Jump ropes, themselves, have ranged from mere lengths of rope, or cord, to sophisticated items with special handles and swivels. These different types of jump ropes have been adapted, with varying degrees of success, to various jump rope games.
However, when there is only one rope and two participants, no satisfactory arrangement has, to this point, been known. When there are three, or more, participants, there are always two who can swing the rope for the other to jump, and the participants can trade between the jumping and the swinging activities. When only two participants are available with a single rope, one generally does nothing while the other jumps.
So that both can participate simultaneously one end of the rope is often tied to a tree, a door handle or the like, so that one can swing while the other jumps. Such arrangements generally cause the rope to twist so that every so often the participants must stop and untwist the rope. Moreover, such an arrangement severely restricts the locations where it can be employed.